Balanced
by GeishaXnoXHimitsu
Summary: Roy Harper was always the hard head and Reine Lance was the carefree one. They've had a very interesting relationship filled with sweet and infuriating moments. After the Team is formed, what will happen to their relationship? RoyxOC & if you look at the photo for the story... there's Reine! Thanks to all my readers! ;)
1. Prologue

Balanced

Roy Harper/ Red Arrow

Prologue:

July 4

_"Guess they're right about you all, you're not ready," Roy said walking towards the door. The boys just watched his retreating figure as he left, but I couldn't stand that._

_ "Roy," I called running after him, "just wait a second." I grabbed his arm not wanting him to go. We'd known each other for years; considering our mentors were practically engaged (I really wish they would already). "Don't do this; we just have to be patient-"_

_ "Patience isn't going to get us into the League, Reine. They don't respect us that's all there is to it. Did Black Canary tell you anything?"_

_ "No, but-"_

_ "There's your proof. I don't know about you, but I'm out."_

_ He jerked his arm away, but I grabbed it again. "I have no idea what's gotten into you or why you're acting like such an ass, Roy, but seriously, grow up! Just because you didn't get your way doesn't meant __**anything**__!" I growled. He jerked it away again._

_ This time, I didn't do anything. I only glared at him. Roy had no right to insult Black Canary, she was my caretaker and mentor. "Do what you want, but don't come crying to me when you find out I'm right," he said not looking back._

_ The sad thing about this is that I knew Roy said that on purpose. He just knew how to tick me off. "You're a real ass," I growled as he left._

I flopped on my bed with my still wet, tangled black hair in a mess. After the whole Project Cadmus thing and all, Dinah Lance (Black Canary) grounded me when we got back to Star City. And, to be quite honest, I'm bitter about the entire ordeal. Speak of the bird, Dinah walked in and gave me a sympathetic look. "Reine, you know I'm punishing you for your own good," she said sitting on the bed.

"Che, yea…" I said looking away. She frowned knowing I was acting immature.

"Reine Lance, you listen to me right now. You're older than all of those boys and yet you rushed into the danger without thinking!"

"Well we worked well as a team! If I'm going to be working with those guys some day, then we should work as a team **now**!" I said sitting up.

She sighed; "I know that, but you know I worry…" here we go. Dinah's my aunt; she has all the reason to worry… since dear mummy and daddy abandoned me when they found out about my Canary Cry. "But, that's also why I have to let you join the Team." I stared at her, was she serious? "But, would you willing to live at Mount Justice for now?"

I contemplated the idea. Mount Justice was an old base for the Justice League, until it was compromised and they had to move to the Hall of Justice. Though, I still wondered why the base would be there. "But, isn't Mount Justice compromised?" I asked.

"If the baddies knew it was being occupied again, I don't think they'll attack it, plus there isn't much there," she said, "So, what do you think?"

I looked up at the ceiling. It would mean I'd be on my own from time to time since the boys might not be staying. I'd probably be the only girl unless there are others out there that might get assigned. Then again, I wouldn't have to deal with the whole parenting thing… or worry about doing chores. Hell, how could I say "no"? Dinah couldn't yell at me and I could have fun! And, I could get away from Star City. Being here, it made me think of Roy.

"I'll go," I said looking at Dinah with a smile, "it sounds fun."

"That's my girl," she smiled, "Hey, your hair's wet. Go dry it before you go to bed." I nodded and stood up to head for the bathroom.

"Yes, ma'am," I laughed as I walked out of the room. I could live without Roy Harper in my life for a bit.


	2. Ch1: Time to Myself

Ch.1: Time to Myself

July 22

Well, the first few days at Mount Justice were pretty fun. I was the first to arrive, then Superboy (AKA Conner Kent) and then Miss Martian (AKA Megan Morse). The three of us really had nothing to do, but laze around or explore, well I explored most of the time. Megan was a pretty cool Martian, with her green skin and perky personality. Conner, he sulked most of the time. We both tried to reach out to him, mostly Megan, but he refused to listen to us.

"Ugh, I think I'm done with living here," I sighed flopping in a loveseat in front of the television. It was only eleven and I had explored the place at least five times. Conner glanced, more like glared, at me and then went back to watching whatever god forsaken reality television show he had taken interest in. "You know those shows aren't real, right?" I asked staring at him.

"Yes," he stated bluntly eyes still trained on the screen. I sighed; someone seriously needs to get some social skills.

"So… why do you watch it?" I had to start somewhere, didn't I?

"No reason." This… guy was so… boring. I frowned, why couldn't he be polite? But, thank goodness for Megan!

"Hey, guys," she grinned bounding floating over, "Reine, can you help me with the baking? I still don't understand how the oven works…"

I bounced up suddenly filled with energy, "Sure, but I don't guarantee that whatever you're baking will be… edible." She looked at me strangely as I simply told her not to ask why. So, we spent some time in the kitchen baking, or attempting to. Then, we had a little visit from Kid Flash, Robin, and Aqualad. Kid, I had known for awhile now as Wally West. As for Robin, I knew he was Dick Grayson, only because Bruce Wayne made him stay with me and Dinah once, but I wasn't allowed to call him Dick. Aqualad had told me his Atlantean name, Kaldur, the first time we met. "Hey, guys," I said as they walked in. Wally practically jumped at the smell of cookies. "Not yet, Wally-boy," I said blocking his path, "they aren't ready yet."

"Wait, why are **_you_** baking, Reine?" Dick asked realizing what we were doing.

"Megan wanted to know how the oven worked, so I helped her out."

They all stared at me as I folded my arms. A ding sent Megan squealing with excitement. "They're ready!" she said floating over to the oven with oven mittens. She took out the tray of cookies and they were barely burnt. I jumped up and did a happy dance.

"Take that, Robin!" I said pointing at him. Yes, I'm so mature for a seventeen year old. Wally had taken advantage of my little victory dance and snatched a cookie, but they were too hot and he burned himself. I let out a fit of laughter as Wally yelped and dropped the cookie. Maybe having the boys around just made me a little too hyper.

"You really are hyper," Kaldur said with a kind smile. I grinned and hopped up on a counter. Finally, things were interesting around the Cave.

"So where have you guys been while we've been cooped up in here?" I asked as Megan handed me a cookie, "Thanks, Megs." The three looked at each other with hesitation. "Don't you hide things from me, or else I'll just have to assume things," I stated biting into my cookie. It was a little burnt, but good in all. Dick fixed his sunglasses awkwardly and glanced at Kaldur, who looked over at Wally. His green eyes darted between them and me. What was so hard about telling me where they were?

"Well," Wally began looking at the floor, "we were in Happy Harbor."

"Okay, so what?" I really wanted to know the details.

"Uh, we were on a mission."

"I know that."

"And, we… er… ran into Roy."

I sat there munching on the cookie. Ever since I joined Young Justice, Roy had been a touché subject. They heard my argument with him, hell I'm sure the tourists caught parts of it. "Okay," I simply said with my legs crossed and leaning on my knee. So what if Roy had been in the same place as them? It was just a coincidence.

"He called us a joke," Dick muttered quietly, but I heard it.

"Well, screw him."

With that, I jumped off the counter and finished off my cookie. I headed back to my room leaving them confused. To be honest, I was pissed that Roy said that, but I'm sure he had no idea of what he was saying. I sat on the floor outside my room, just sitting there with my knees drawn to my chest.

"May I join you?" Kaldur asked catching my attention.

I smiled, "Sure." He sat next to me and we just sat there in silence for a bit. Then, I blurted out, "He didn't ask about me, did he?" I knew the answer.

"Not really. He thought you were still with Black Canary."

I nodded slowly. Okay, so he didn't know. It wasn't that big of a deal, right? I mean, technically, we weren't on speaking terms anymore. A sigh escaped my lips as a feeling of what felt… like hollowness came up inside of me. Was I too harsh with Roy at the Hall of Justice? Would we ever recover the relationship we had? Kaldur placed a hand on my shoulder for reassurance. He understood more than anyone about the close friendship I had with Roy. I was glad that I had one mature friend on the team.

"Thanks bud," I said putting on a smile.

"Anytime, Reine," he said standing up. He then walked away leaving me to my own thoughts, and I was thankful. I needed time to myself anyway.

Over the next few weeks, we'd be sent on missions and I would have a blast at the Cave with Conner and Megan. On missions, I would have a little too much fun being able to do what I wanted for once. It felt great being a part of Young Justice, but sometimes I would hear about Roy, no, Red Arrow. He was making a name for himself, but the name was kind of… ripped off.

"Wow, that's a lame name," I said out loud once when we were just hanging around the Cave. Conner, as usual, had control of the remote. "He could have picked something better."

"It might be better than Speedy…" Wally muttered recounting several times that he had been called Speedy. I bit my lip so I wouldn't laugh. It was always funny when people called him Speedy. The best was when we were at the Hall of Justice, though. That day was special and it was funnier because he had almost snapped at the tourists.

The team, Young Justice had become like a family for me. We had bonded and learned to work together perfectly and I felt so at peace here. Dinah really did call it when I needed to get out of Star City. She would come to help us train every so often, but she had told me that Roy had his own apartment now. Not that I minded, I wasn't there and he wasn't here. Though, I might have seen him more. I needed my space and time to myself.


	3. Ch 2: New Gal

Ch.2: New Gal

August 8

"So, you're Green Arrow's new partner?" I asked as Artemis sat at the counter. I could barely believe that Green Arrow had found someone so quickly.

She stared at me with cold blue eyes. "Yes," she stated, "you were there when he introduced me."

"I know. I'm just trying to wrap my head around it."

I'd never met her before, and Green Arrow claimed that she was his niece. "So… you shoot arrows…" I said trying to find something to talk about.

"Yea and you are Ricochet, the one that's in love with Red Arrow."

"Ugh, gross! I don't have anything with him!"

"Well you did before he became Red Arrow."

I scowled at the blonde as she stared at me. We were both leaning on the island in the kitchen while the others were watching some reality television show. Artemis and I, we had met before, well for a few seconds. Of course, back then, I was with Roy and he was not pleased to be around her. That was the simple truth to it all, Roy never liked Artemis. Though, I didn't say much to her, because she fled as Roy and I ran after her. So, this was a new thing to try to get to know her.

"Roy and I were **_never_** dating, and, by the way, we're no longer on speaking terms," I stated, "Hence why I haven't been around in Star City." I flipped my bangs away from my eyes as her eyes widened a bit.

"Seriously, you two haven't done anything?"

"No, and I hope nothing ever will. Roy and I, we've been done. There's nothing left of our little friendship."

Artemis stared at me for a bit. Then, she did the most shocking thing; she reached out her hand to me. "Okay, my real name's Artemis Crock," she said.

"Reine Lance," I said taking her hand to shake. From that day, I could tell that Artemis and I would be great friends.

"Hey," Kaldur said peering into the kitchen, "Roy's here." Our little happy moment faded quickly as we followed Kaldur to the mission debriefing room.

As we walked in, I saw Roy in a new costume arguing with Green Arrow. Green Arrow glanced over at the three of us. The rest of the Team was waiting with Batman and Red Tornado. The debriefing room was filled with computers and pretty much lit by the screens and a single light. I personally think that was all because Batman had designed the place. Artemis went to join her mentor and Aqualad led me over to the team. I hadn't noticed, but Roy had turned and his eyes were following me as I joined up with the Team.

I flicked Wally, well since he was dressed up in his hero costume, KF, in the forehead. "You should seriously be nicer to Artemis, Kid," I stated, "She's pretty chill." I leaned on one leg and crossed my arms giving him a scolding look. He simply looked away defiantly and at Roy with a scoff. I rolled my eyes; there was no way that Roy would join us with his ego.

Batman then called us all to attention, "Now that we're all here, Speedy-"

"It's Red Arrow now," Roy grumbled. I rolled my eyes looking over his costume; even I had to admit it was better than what Green Arrow had picked out for him. His mask was simple and black, a lot like Robin's and he didn't have that silly yellow hat that reminded me of Peter Pan. He wore a sleeveless shirt that was red around the chest and neck and black everywhere else, a utility belt that had pouches hanging on the side, most likely for first aid. He also wore grey boots for agility and speed, along with archer gloves and arm protectors, both black, on his right arm it reached his elbow and on the left it reached halfway his forearm. His quiver was strapped to his shoulders like a backpack and was secured by another strap across his chest. All in all, it wasn't that bad of an outfit. Even I could admit that Roy just wasn't a hat kind of guy with that crew cut of his.

"Fine, Red Arrow," Batman said ignoring the curt tone, "Red Arrow has would like to share something with us." Then, Roy explained about how the League of Shadows had kidnapped this really amazing professor named Doctor Serling Roquette, and no, Doctor is not her first name. Apparently, they forced her to create this nanotechnology, The Fog that could eat away at anything and even get into computers and steal information or something like that. Obviously, this was a serious threat.

When he was done explaining I asked, "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, maybe the Team and Red Arrow can work together," Green Arrow said glancing over at his former student. I knew what Roy would say.

"No thanks," he said turning to leave. As he walked towards the zeta tubes, he glanced at me. I scoffed and looked away. As the computer called him "Speedy", he scowled. "It's Red Arrow, B106, update," and then he left. Kid glared at Artemis, most likely accusing her of taking Roy's place on the team.

So, we ended up in Happy Harbor High School, at night. I was with Artemis, Robin, Kid and Aqualad watching the doc type whatever. Miss M had connected us through a telepathic link and it was already backfiring. Kid and Artemis were arguing, again, and Roquette was complaining about having to deal with teenagers. Honestly, I wished they would all shut up. Then again, I just wish that the doc would stop complaining; she sounded like a conceded git. (Excuse me for my language, but when you read _Harry Potter_ until three in the morning, the vocabulary can stick.)

Artemis ended up patrolling outside with Miss M and Superboy. When she left, I kicked Kid off his seat on one of the tables. "Ouch," he said glaring at me.

"I told you that you needed to be nicer," I thought. After sometime, the doc found The Fog and we sent Superboy and Robin in the Bio-Ship after it.

And, we sat there watching the doc type away on the old school computer. Looking around the lab, I felt a twinge of jealousy. I knew that Kid and other member of the team had been to high school, but I hadn't. Dinah had felt that it would be too risky, since neither of us really tried to hide our identities when we fought crime. Roy had told me that school was a complete waste of time, but I never really believed him with that.

"Hey, Kid," I thought, "What's it like in high school?" no answer. I frowned as Roquette complained some more, this time it was about how childish I was. "Oh shut it, I've never had the pleasure of going to school with kids my age. Seriously, Kid, what the hell is it like?" still no answer. Something told me that everything was about to go downhill. "I'm going to go look for him," I sighed walking towards the door, "And give him a piece of my mind." I didn't even wait for Aqualad or Robin to object and left the room. I ended up wandering the school since Kid wasn't at his post. As I reached the pool, I gasped, he was floating back up in a pool. Pulling him out and waking him up, I asked what happened out loud.

"Ugh, someone's here," he said rubbing his head. I pulled him and then dragged him back to the room. We had gotten there just in time to try and nab an assassin, a Shadow, with a green outfit, ninja gear, and a creepy mask. Though, she got away. Kid blamed Artemis and Megan and I had to tell him it wasn't her fault. We just weren't prepared for the assassin. Then, Robin called in, STAR Labs, The Fog's target, had been completely destroyed. Now, we had to relocate The Fog and move the doc.

"Let's hurry up before that witch in the mask gets back," I said. We ended up moving her to this place near the harbor. Unfortunately, I was stuck inside again with Kid and Artemis. Their damned screaming bouts were seriously getting on my nerves. "Would you two act your age?" I shouted at them mentally catching them off guard, "You two act like five year olds."

Then, we were attacked by not one, but three assassins, one that looked like a rip-off of Spiderman, another that had a huge hook for a hand, and the same girl from before. Except this time, we were ready. Miss M had disguised herself as Roquette while Aqualad was watching over the real Roquette in a café nearby. The girl them said that she would find Roquette and Artemis went after her.

"Pursuing their leader, take care of them!" she shouted chasing after the girl.

"You are so not the boss of me!" Kid shouted as I ran after Artemis.

"Oh, I am though," I stated looking back at him, "Just take care of them, Kiddy!" he frowned as I ran out the door. Eventually, we caught up with the girl. Artemis shot an arrow that had knock-out gas in it rendering the girl unconscious, but her mask had filtered the air and the girl knocked Artemis out. I let out a Canary Cry and that, I hoped, gave Aqualad a little warning. Soon enough, I was in hand to hand combat with the assassin and trying to avoid her blades so I wouldn't be poisoned.

"You're good, Baby Bird," the girl mocked as I dodged her lunge and attempted to lead her away from the café. I scoffed and let out another Canary Cry.

"Bitch, please," I stated trying to knock her off her feet with a sweep kick, but she was ready. She jumped up and tried to pin me to the roof, but I rolled out of the way and stood quickly. The girl ran at me and kicked me in the gut sending me at least a few feet away.

"Name's, Cheshire," she growled running at me again. I let out another Canary Cry, but she moved out of the way and was too fast. Then, she cut my arm and knocked me in the back of my neck, like she had done to Artemis. I fell to the ground, unconscious. When I came to, I caught a flash of red and black, but it was gone as soon as my eyes had focused. I grabbed my head and let out a groan. Then, my eyes shifted to Artemis, who had disappeared.

"Shit," I thought jumping off the building, only to find Artemis staring at the ground almost… disheartened. The doc and Aqualad were walking out of the cafeteria; Aqualad had some knives in his chest. "What happened?" I asked staring at the knives, "Where's that assassin?"

"She, she got away," Artemis said walking away. Kid arrived with Miss M and the two other assassins out cold and chained up.

"From you," Kid stated mockingly, "Well, that's no surprise." I sent him a glare as he bent down in amazement to find the girl assassin's mask, "Cool, a souvenir!"

"Her mask," Aqualad asked pulling out the knives out of his chest, "Did you see her face?"

We all stared at Artemis, "It was dark."

"It is fine. Robin and Superboy neutralized The Fog, and Doctor Roquette is safe, thanks to no small part because of you," Aqualad said as she turned around.

"I've always wanted more than one sister," Miss M said as we all gathered around Artemis, "Well, I mean on Earth, I have twelve back on Mars, but trust me it's not the same." I snorted remembering Miss M telling me the something similar.

"I wouldn't know," Artemis said, "thanks."

I glanced at Kid, he still refused to say anything to Artemis, and so I yanked his ear. "Ow," he said shooting me another glare, "Yea, welcome." He then shook hands with Artemis.

"All right," I said stretching, "let's get the Doc somewhere safe and head home!" I slung my arm around Artemis happy to add another girl to the team.


	4. Ch 3: Joy, Joy, Roy, Roy

Ch.3: Joy, Joy, Roy, Roy

September 7

Usually, I spent my days at the Cave sparring with Conner, only because he doesn't always listen to Dinah, and either burning or making semi-decent baked goods with Megan. At least every other day we'd get a visit from the other members of the Team. Though, we'd get the every so often mission.

"Hey, Kaldur," I greeted from the couch as I attempted at a game Wally had dropped off and challenged me to play. It was for the PS3 and I only had one because Dinah had gotten tired of me begging for something to do besides read and watch television. It was some game where you played as one of the heroes from the Justice League. Corny and way too obsessive for Wally to have, I know.

"Still playing that game, I see," he said glancing over my shoulder as I slumped on the couch.

"Yea, give me another hour and I'll be done. The attacks are totally not accurate on this. I have no idea what Wally-boy was thinking when he bought this."

"When did he give that to you?"

"The last time you guys were here; which was like two days ago, right?"

"Yes," he said heading, then the zeta tube acted up again, and Roy appeared. I didn't even have to look up because the damned computer had called out "Recognize, Red Arrow: B106." I hated that thing sometimes. "Roy," Kaldur greeted, "it's good to see you."

"Same here, Aqualad," Roy said as I rolled my eyes, "but I'm not here to chat. Can I speak with you, privately?" Kaldur nodded and they were off to discuss whatever. Meanwhile, I had played the game as Black Canary, only because Dinah had been there the day Wally gave it to me and I could tell she wanted me to play as her. Within twenty minutes, I had beaten the game.

"Oh yea," I shouted jumping on the couch, "Who's awesome at beating lame-ass, inaccurate games? Reine Lance, bitches, that's who!" Conner glanced at me and then back at the television. He was so used to my outbursts by now. Kaldur cleared his throat catching my attention. "What?" I said jumping over the back of the couch, "I beat the game. Oh, Megs, I lost the game and won the anti-game!" I could hear her let out a cry of frustration in the kitchen. Roy stared at me, not surprised by my behavior.

"All right then," Kaldur said, "Reine, you're coming with us to a peace conference concerning North and South Rhelasia." I gave him a look.

"Define "us", Kaldur."

"You, Roy, and I are going to the peace conference."

"Oh, no I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"It's not good to disobey orders, Reine," Conner said smirking at me. I glared at him as he went to watching whatever was on MTV; seriously not good for him that's for sure.

"Hey, don't you give me lip about that lesson!" I growled. Roy chuckled to himself, and I shot him a much more intense glare.

"Come on, Reine," Kaldur sighed, "this is serious." I tossed my PS3 to Conner as he caught it. I did promise him that he could try the game after I beat it.

"Whatever," I said folding my arms following the two boys to the hanger, "Great, I'm the only girl. This is going to be boring!"

Once we were in the Bio-ship, which I had to ask Megan if we could use, there was complete silence. I refused to talk to Roy, or even look at him. (Aren't I mature?) Kaldur was the only one able to hold a conversation with us. It was the longest flight ever, by the way. There was nothing to do for me unless you counted staring out the window to only see puffy clouds. I should seriously have asked Megan if there was any music played in this thing, but that never crossed my mind.

"So… what are we doing?" I asked getting a little antsy. Sitting in a seat for hours is boring, really boring.

Aqualad sighed, "I told you before, Ricochet." I stared at him trying to remember.

"Something about… a peace summit and…"

"We're protecting the delegates of North and South Rhelasia," Roy stated, "and Lex Luthor." I scowled at him. Why did I have to work with Ego Arrow? (I really shouldn't hang around Wally that much)

So, my little mission with Aqualad and Red Arrow… was somewhat successful. We were attacked by that Cheshire chick again and she even brought Sportsmaster. It was so not whelming, ugh great I sound like Dick. Anyway, Roy had his ass handed to him, which was funny, by Sportsmaster and Aqualad and I were able to hold off Cheshire. But, then Luthor just had to take the spotlight with his "chauffer" (wink, wink, nudge, nudge), Mercy, and her bionic arm and blast the two baddies. Though the peace conference went well, so that was a plus, right?

"That… obnoxious jerk face!" I growled as we headed back to the Bio-ship. Aqualad and Red Arrow were right behind me.

"Calm down, Ricochet, we still completed our mission," Aqualad stated.

"I can't. I had some of that brown cake; I think it had coffee in it. And what that baldy and robot lady did… they are so lucky that there were cameras!"

Red Arrow was silent, eyes trained on me as I went on my caffeinated tirade. If I wasn't turning around as if flailing my arms, I wouldn't have noticed. He was just staring at me and he'd been doing it the entire night. Though, he hadn't said a word to me. The intense staring made me squirm as we walked up the ramp of the Bio-ship. Aqualad took the pilot's seat and Red Arrow and I sat behind him.

We sat in silence not sure what to say. I was still fuming about the whole thing. "So, are you living on your own, Roy?" Kaldur asked sick of the tension.

Roy looked over to the younger boy. "Yea, I bought my own apartment in Star City," he replied glancing at me. I looked away not wanting to interact with him. "It's pretty nice and all, but I'm never really home to enjoy it," he stated, "Going solo has been pretty great though." I let out a tiny noise of discontent. He was hinting at having so many women falling in "love" with him. I had never minded the girls flirting with him before, but now it just bothered me. Maybe it was because it felt like he was rubbing the attention he was getting in my face. I hated it when Roy did that, and he would do it just because he knew it would irk me. Roy had done that to me on numerous occasions. Ugh, he was so irritating! And, now he's smirking at me!

I ended up blocking out their conversation watching the dark clouds rolled by. The sky was pretty and I really could stare at them all day, er, night. I was so immersed in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed Kaldur calling my name. "Huh?" I asked looking back over to them. They were getting ready to leave; I guess I hadn't noticed that we had reached Mount Justice.

"We're home," Kaldur said looking down at me. I nodded and unstrapped myself from the chair. As I stood up, I could feel Roy's gaze as I followed Kaldur out of the Bio-ship. The hangar, as usual was empty and it was pretty late. "You know the invitation is still open," he said shaking hands with Roy. I rolled my eyes, what a conceited ass.

"I still work alone," he stated, "I'm not working under the League."

"Because Roy's too "grown-up" to play with the "kiddies"," I snorted about to walk away. Then I felt a hand grab hold of my wrist. My head snapped to my right to catch Roy's eye hidden behind his mask. He then recoiled quickly as I turned to face him, "What?"

"Nothing, I'll… get going."

He then headed in and for one of the zeta tubes leaving me a little confused. What was that gesture? Kaldur walked over and put a hand on my shoulder. We then left the hangar to join Megan and Conner in our little room that Wally ended up calling the "crib". Dick and Wally had left, and Aqualad had to leave too.

"So… did you beat it yet?" I asked looking over Conner's shoulder. Megan was sitting next to him watching intently as he played as Superman, of course.

"This isn't accurate," was all he said. I had to hand it to him; he was halfway done with the game.

"I know Wally-boy sucks at picking games."


	5. Ch4: What?

Ch.4: What?!

November 5

The weeks after that little mission with the peace conference, our training had become a little more eventful. There was an attack on the Cave by this Red Torpedo thing (which was not cool because Artemis and Robin had to save our asses), we met Captain Marvel and Conner adopted Wolf (he is so fluffy), the Injustice League attacking and Aqualad becoming Doctor Fate for a bit, that whole doomed-to-fail simulation, and that brings us to today. All the adults were missing!

I was working with Wally, Artemis and Superboy to gather children at places that the older kids could help take care of them. I knew what it was like to have parents just disappear on you, and I didn't want these kids to feel the same way. "Hey, it's going to be okay," I cooed cradling a baby. It was a little boy and I had saved him from a car that was rolling away. His whines started to quiet down as his big brown eyes looked up at me. I sat in the Happy Harbor High School as Artemis and Wally were trying to entertain other children. A smile crept onto my lips as he began to giggle.

"You're so good with him," Wally said sitting next to me.

"It's just a woman's intuition, Wally-boy. Aw, he's growing his fist set of teeth."

Wally glanced at the boy and grinned, "You'd make a good mom." I smiled sweetly remembering what Dinah had told me she used to do the same thing when I was a baby. She would visit me at my parents' home and babysit me sometimes.

"Maybe you should help Artemis," I said giving the baby a pacifier, "She looks like she needs help." He looked over at her, then back at me. "Oh come on! Be nice!" I said urging him to go join the blonde. A small blush spread across his cheeks, "I knew it, you like her."

"I-I don't!"

"I'm so sure. You're face is all red, Wally-boy."

He frowned, "Oh yea, what about you and Roy?" I froze, I hadn't even thought about Roy since the thing in Rhelasia. Then, Wally said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine," I said rocking the baby. Wally sighed and walked off to join Artemis. I spent hours watching the baby boy sleep and then wake up to cry or change his diaper. His dark brown hair was curly and his face was so chubby. When parents came to pick up their children, I just sat and waited for the baby's parents.

After most of the kids had been picked up, the parents came. The mother ran over to me with tears in her eyes. "Thank you," she cried as I put the babies into her arms, "Thank you for saving him." The father ran beside her, tears welling in his eyes. She looked up at me and smiled, "You must have had your hands full. Michael must have been crying so much."

"He was an angel," I smiled, "He even slept through most of it."

"Oh, my, you really should be a babysitter."

"Actually, I can't," I laughed nervously, "I don't live around here, I was visiting my aunt and then well, you can guess."

"That's too bad," the father said, "but you really are good with kids. Maybe you should be a teacher one day." I laughed at the thought.

"Maybe I will."

"We should get going," the mother said, "Say "bye-bye", Michael." She held up the small boy's hand and waved it.

I grinned and waved, "Bye, Michael." When they left, I looked around the gym. It was just me, Wally, Artemis and Superboy. They all grinned knowing that our job was done. Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. My head whipped in the direction of its owner, Roy. We were silent for a bit, neither knowing what to say. "What are you doing here?"

He heaved a sigh, "To apologize." His blue eyes locked with mine and just stared at me. Then, I heard a wolf whistle from Wally.

"Wally-boy!" I shouted glaring at him as Artemis and Superboy dragged him away. My face was red with embarrassment. Oh, was he going to get it! Roy chuckled at my reaction. I looked back at him still glaring. "What?"

"It's nothing," he said taking my hand.

"Whatever," I scoffed, "but I seriously don't want to talk."

"I do, Reine."

I yanked my hand away, "No, Roy, we're not talking. You've already made it clear that you don't want to be a part of the team and that you thinks it's a joke. I don't think the team's a joke. To be honest, they're like family to me." I walked off before he could say anymore.

"Reine, wait!" he called catching up to me. I glanced at him not sure of what he would do. Then, he grabbed my chin and the next thing I knew his lips were pressing down on mine. My body turned rigid at the sudden intimacy. So many questions ran through my mind, but the one that popped up the most was why? I panicked and did the only thing that seemed reasonable, I pushed Roy away.

"What the hell?!" I asked backing away.

"I-I'm sorry!" he pleaded in complete shock, "I didn't mean to do that, Reine!" my face was flustered with anger, maybe embarrassment. Roy pleaded for me to listen, but I didn't want to hear it. Why he kissed me I didn't understand. The only thing that I could do, or that my body would let me, was run. I ran through the gymnasium doors as fast as I could. In the distance I could hear Roy calling after me, but I just ignored it.

Tears didn't roll down my face, I was too angry with Roy for that. In all truth I was confused. I had thought that Roy had always found me annoying or just some girl that he worked with, but now I wasn't sure. Why had he kissed me? He'd never shown me that much intimacy before, ever. I literally ran into Superboy when I reached the others.

"Ow…" I groaned rubbing my butt as I hit the ground, "God, Conner, you're like a rock…"

"Hence why he's the Boy of Steel," Artemis stated helping me up, "Why were you in such a rush?"

"Yea, I thought you and Roy were going to…" Wally said grinning like an idiot.

"Don't even say that, Wally-boy," I said stepping on his foot, "And, I never want hear **_his_** name ever again." I walked ahead of them towards Mount Justice as they stared at my back.

Artemis glared at Wally as he looked at her sheepishly. "Idiot," she stated walking after me.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Wally asked sprinting after us. Conner was still confused. Sure he was in a relationship with Megan, but that didn't mean that he had adapted to how social life between teenagers were like.


	6. Ch 5: Baby Girl

Ch.5: Baby Girl

November 15

"So, I'm going in solo?" I asked a little unsure of what was being asked of me. As I clipped on an earpiece, Batman and Black Canary went over the mission again on the other end. In a few seconds, I would be sky diving down to a hideout of the Shadow League. All I know is that the place was in Gotham City. I didn't like going there, considering it wasn't a place that I knew a lot about. Robin wouldn't even tell me if I asked him.

"Yes," Batman stated, "all you need to do is look around and act normal, that's all."

"Do I have permission to ask why I'm being sent and not Robin?"

"He's too well known around there."

I almost chuckled, that was true. The doors of the Bio-ship opened and the wind rushed in whipping my ponytail around. "Be careful, okay, Reine?" Black Canary said in my ear.

"I know," I sighed, "Nothing's going to hold me down." My outfit was the usual provocative outfit, but today I had a parachute on my back and goggles on my face. "Target in sight!" I said into the earpiece seeing Wayne Tech's main building, "All right, three, two, one!" I grinned, "Here we go!" with that, I jumped out of the Bio-ship and let out a scream of adrenaline. I just loved the rush from doing crazy stuff like this, whether it was fighting crime or just dangerous activities.

When I was ready, I pulled the parachute and I landed perfectly on the roof of Wayne Tech's main building. I grinned and repacked the parachute. "Leave the parachute by the service entrance," Batman said. I nodded and said I understood. Quickly, I put the parachute by the service entrance to the roof and then I took my grappling gun from my belt. I looked over the rocket hand painted on it, my best piece of work. "Head to the harbor, and that is as far as we can help you," he stated, "You're on your own from there."

"Roger that," I said shooting the grappling hook and swinging from it to the next building. Looking around the busy city, it was amazing. The night life was busy, I could tell, and I was a little jealous of Robin and Artemis. They were so lucky to have a place like this to live in. Sure Star City was just as amazing, but I didn't really have anyone to hang out with. The city flew by underneath me and soon, I reached the quiet harbor. My mission was to see if I could get any information on what the League of Shadows could be doing in Gotham City. (I still wish that Robin was sent or at least with me)

As I snuck across the roof of a warehouse, I looked over the edge and into the shipyard. It should have been closed, but one ship was loading up cargo. I took binoculars out from my utility belt, a gift from the Bats and Robin, and peered through the small, yet high-tech wonders. It looked like Sportsmaster and that cat girl were working the entire operation. I frowned seeing their faces, masked as usual, was not a pleasure. But, to take them both on was not something wise. Though, I needed more information. The only thing I could think of was risk getting a little closer. So, I stealthily jumped down and landed in an alleyway. Then, I made my way closer to the loading zone and hid in the shadows.

"How much longer will this take?" Cheshire growled as Sportsmaster watched the loading process.

"Not much longer," he grumbled as another crate was loaded on board. His eyes then wandered to the girl with the mask, "If you're so bored, go patrol."

"I should not have to listen to you! Tell the other two to do it!"

I tensed, who were the other two? Where could they be? My headed looked around quickly, but no one was there. Now the two on the boat were arguing. It looked like I wouldn't be able to get any more information, so I turned to leave. Then, a voice said, "I thought I sniffed a little nosey munchkin!"

Turning to face the owner, I expected to see Cheshire since the voice sounded female, but it wasn't. Another woman, taller and a more muscular physique, held a spear to my throat. A man stood next to her, though taller and leaner. They both had masks, but they were pure white and had no designs on them.

"Now, darling, it's only a little girl!" he stated grasping his double katanas. I gulped, seeing there was no other way out but to fight.

"No, she isn't! Look at her utility belt! It has some useful gadgets, love."

"You're right," he mused, "looks like we'll just have to kill her."

"Oh shit," I thought in a panic. The only thing I could think of was my Canary Cry. The two seemed to be happy to have something to do. With a quick breath, I let out my Canary Cry sending them flying back into the hull of the ship and ran off. I had to get out as quickly as I could, and now Cheshire and Sportsmaster knew I was here too. My boots hit the pavement as I weaved through the metal containers of the loading zone as I could hear shouts echo behind me. My heart was beating fast and loudly in my chest. My breathing was steady, yet I felt like there was the chance I wouldn't make it.

Then, I was crushed against the ground by none other than Cheshire. She cackled as I groaned in pain as she leaned close to my ear, "Look at this, is it Baby Bird I've caught?" the other two had caught up and seemed delighted that Cheshire had caught me. "Well, what should we do with her?" she asked the other two.

They looked at each other and said in unison, "Keep her, of course!"

"What? But, she's one of the little hero brats!"

"Not just any "brat", Cheshire, dear," the woman giggled, "That happens to be my sissy's protégé! Don't you know who she is?"

"Yes, she belongs to us anyway," the man stated, "Black Canary took her from us, it's time to take her back!" my eyes widened, what did that mean? I didn't belong to anyone! Dinah never took me from anyone either! My parents abandoned me! I squirmed under Cheshire, but she pushed her knee into my back more. I let out a groan of agony under her pressure. Then, I thought, if the Canary Cry was strong enough to send people back, why not propel them off? I took in another breath, painfully, and let out another scream. Cheshire was sent into the other two and I took off.

"Ricochet to Batman," I said into my earpiece as I ran.

"Batman and Black Canary here, Ricochet," came Dinah's voice.

"I need a getaway, ASAP! Cheshire and two others are on my tail!"

"Roger, sending in Aqualad and the Bio-ship."

As I turned a corner, I spotted a glimpse of the Bio-ship, but Sportsmaster was also there. "Shit," I muttered about to turn, only to be surrounded by the other three, "Mother fucker."

The woman in the white mask gasped, "Language, my dear!" I smirked, what right did she have to lecture me about my foul mouth? I then charged at her, not thinking of anything better, ready to fight, but Cheshire kicked me into her Sportsmaster. Sportsmaster twisted my arm and I let out another groan of pain as I sunk to my knees. The woman walked over and knelt down to my level and lifted my chin, "You're such a pretty thing! Mommy is so proud of you!"

My eyes widened, "W-What are you talking about?"

She only let out a giggle, "Oh, Reine doesn't know? What has Mommy's sissy been keeping from you? Don't worry, baby girl, Mommy and Daddy will tell you everything, now go to sleep like a good girl." Then, she touched a nerve on my neck, and darkness. The only thing I could here was Dinah on the other end of my earpiece with Aqualad asking frantically if I was all right. Yea, this mission was definitely a failure. "Bao, we have our baby girl back!"

"Yes, Alanis, our baby girl is back with us."

***Author's Note:

Dinah means judged, and I felt the need to be a little nerdy. So, I went on www. behindthename .com and did a search on names that mean judged or something similar, decide, and found Alanis. Since the two meanings are similar, that's how I named Reine's mom. Bao is a Vietnamese name that, if I remember correctly, means clear.


	7. Ch6: LOL AOL

**Just a note: Thanks to my followers for reading! The story is moving fast from here, idk why. But, this chapter is really long, so enjoy!**

**PS: iPads are a pain when updating fanfiction.**

Ch.6: LOL AOL

December 18

It was almost Christmas and the Cave was decorated with holiday spirit. Though, there was still emptiness that Reine had been taken. They knew the League of Shadows had her, but they had to leave it to the Justice League for this one. Black Canary had taken it on as her personal mission and had yet to rest until she had found and rescued Reine. Roy had spent the time at the Cave watching Artemis' moves carefully. He pinned the blame on her, yet he knew it wasn't her fault Reine was missing.

* * *

Meanwhile, Reine had been working on trying to get as much information as possible on the Shadows. If she was ever going to get back to the good guys, she wanted to bring some juicy tidbits too. As childish as she acted, she was just as in genius too. This was pretty easy too, since her parents trusted her a little too much. Reine had come to notice that her mother seemed to be a little unstable and her father could be equally compared. It was as though their personalities had been warped. Not much of a wonder why Dinah took her in.

"You've suddenly warmed up to it here," Cheshire said one day as the two were training. Reine still didn't like her cousin.

"Not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon," she growled. These were the few times that she had any interaction with the older woman. Then again, the last time she saw the girl was after the New Orleans mission. "Come to think of it, you haven't been topside since New Orleans, have you?" Cheshire asked with a mischievous smirk. Reine tensed at that. She hadn't been allowed to leave Infinity Island for awhile. That left her in the dark about how the others were doing. "Ah, I hit a soft spot!" the girl laughed.

"Shut it."

"Your temper is still pretty short. That isn't very good, you know. Anyway, I just wanted to say the Red Arrow fellow, he's part of the brat brigade now. Probably as a babysitter or something, but it just makes things even more amusing! I get to go on dates with him more often."

A scowl formed on Reine's face. Whenever Cheshire brought up Red Arrow, for some reason, it made her blood boil. It didn't help since her cousin forced herself onto him in New Orleans either, and she couldn't get the image out of her mind. "What are you stalking him?" she countered.

"And does that bother Little Fang?"

"Jade, that is enough," Alanis said walking into the room, "You can have whoever you please, but Reine is another story. I've told her she is not to ever see that damned archer." Cheshire grinned and glanced at Reine, who glared at her. Her mother sent Cheshire away and, once more, Reine was forced into a grueling training session.

* * *

Sitting in the computer room at the Watchtower, Dinah let out a groan of frustration. She had been working for weeks on end trying to locate her niece. The League had sent the Team to several places where the Shadows were thought to be, but nothing turned up. The only possible place that came to mind was Infinity Island, or bring them out for a trap them. Roy had argued that they should just invade the island, but that was too risky. There was only one option set up bait and see if the Shadows would take it, but what could bait them? Dinah ran her hands through her messy blonde hair. Why was this so hard?

"Dinah," Oliver said with concern putting a hand on her shoulder. He was in his Green Arrow costume and yet she could still see the look of concern in his eyes. "You need to rest," he said.

"I can't, Ollie," she sighed grasping his hand tightly, "She's always been like my daughter. I can't give up on looking for her."

"I understand that you want to help Reine, but what good would it be if you're too exhausted to help her when the time comes to save her? You're more helpful when you're fully rested, Dinah." She let out another sigh knowing he was right. She got out of the chair and he led her to a room where she stayed to rest. When she was asleep, he beamed himself to the Cave to have a chat with Roy.

Meanwhile, the Team had been trying to decorate the Cave for Christmas and New Years. Roy was actually sitting in Reine's room. He had spent some time in there every day just looking around. He was angry with himself for not being there for her. A sigh escaped his lips. How was he supposed to be with her if couldn't find her?

"Roy," Oliver said peeking into the room. Roy's head snapped in the direction of the door. He stood a little tense at the sight of his old mentor. "You miss her, don't you?" he asked as Roy walked over to him. Oliver took the silence as a "yes" and continued, "Dinah has been looking nonstop for her." Roy was silent. He didn't mind Dinah looking into Reine's disappearance; after all, she was her aunt.

"I should have been there."

"And how would you have been able to get to Gotham from Star City?"

"I should have joined the team from the beginning is what I meant. Then, I would be by her side all the time."

Oliver stared at his former protégé. Roy had grown so attached to Reine over the years. Though, he had never noticed how strongly Roy had cared until now.

* * *

"Wow," Reine smirked as she typed away on the computer. She had spent her time locked up in wherever she was exploring. And, of course, no one had thought that she would figure out how to hack into their database and retrieve information on whom and where all the members of the Shadows were. "Now, I just have to figure out how to get this to the League," she sighed, "Maybe… email?" well, it was all she could do. Reine let out another sigh; sending information like this seemed so lame. She was a heroine… or a mole in enemy territory, and she was depending on AOL to get her ass out of wherever she was. "God, I have freaking superpowers and I have to use the internet to save my ass?"

* * *

Dinah had just finished her nap and went back to her search on Reine, when she saw the email. She almost let out a shriek seeing the sender, but when she saw the information, she could barely believe her niece had found all of this. Immediately, she called in Batman and the two worked on tracing down the computer. Within a few hours, Black Canary and several others would be heading to some place in some godforsaken jungle in Asia.

"Are we really going to save Ricochet?" Miss M asked as she piloted the Bio-ship.

"That's what Black Canary said," Robin said through the silence that had filled the ship since they took off. They just couldn't believe that Reine had tipped off the League so easily. Though, it was a little entertaining considering all she did was send an email. "If it really is Ricochet, I'm sure that we'll have all the backup we'll need."

"It's definitely Ricochet," Roy stated. He just had that feeling it was her. Down below, trees whizzed by as they approached rendezvous point. Black Canary and Batman had already been there for a few days trying to locate the place they were keeping Ricochet.

"Okay, everyone," Aqualad said, "Get ready." Miss M opened the doors of the Bio-Ship and everyone but her left. She hid the Bio-Ship nearby and caught with the group as they went over the plans with Batman and Canary.

The plan was simple. Robin and Batman would sneak in through the south, Red and Kaldur would take the east, Canary and Artemis through the west, and the rest through the north. The building was simple, though well hidden with excellent camouflaging of muddy and green colors. It had two floors, one being a basement. The top one had the rooms of several assassins and a few cells, all in a maze. Underneath was the computer that Ricochet must have used to contact them. There were also what looked like to be a training area and even a dungeon.

As Red and Aqualad made their way through the halls, everything was silent. It was already bad enough that the place was eerie and covered in dirt and grime. Miss M had linked everyone up via telepathy, but she could not get in touch with Ricochet. It was only because she did not have the power to reach people whose whereabouts she did not exactly know.

"Find anything on your end?" Canary asked through the telepathy, "Anyone can answer me." "Nothing in the South," Batman stated.

"Nothing but empty cells, rooms and a dead rat," Robin added with a chuckle.

"We haven't seen anything, on this side either," Aqualad stated, "It's as if no one is here." "Well, there's nothing out in the front," Artemis reported, "Should we go down to the basement?" "No, we will all go down together," Batman sated receiving a unanimous agreement. It wasn't long before they all met up with Miss M, Superboy, Zatara and Kid in the front. They all checked the cells and some of the rooms. That is, until Miss M let out a shriek. Cheshire had pinned her to the ground and three other assassins had appeared, all in black jumpsuits and plain white masks.

"Welcome to our little home," Sportsmaster chuckled walking up next to Cheshire. Batman looked up at the three with white masks. Two were female, though one with light brown hair and the other with black, the other was male with black hair. The woman with light brown hair and the man had slashes carved into their masks. "Talon, Claw," Sportsmaster ordered, "You know what to do. Fang, don't hold back." the brunette, Talon, and man, Claw, attacked the group separating them followed by Sportsmaster. It wasn't long until Miss M blasted Cheshire away and they were fighting too. Artemis even joined on taking Cheshire on.

Meanwhile, Fang simply watched. She did not know what to do, but Red did. He shot an explosive arrow at her, but she dodged. Though, it was literally at the last second. She flipped away as Red came after her. Every punch he threw, she dodged. Fang never hit back, once more she was not fighting.

"Where is she?" he growled pushing Fang into a corner.

Fang was silent, as if hesitating, but she let out a sigh, "A little too close." Red paused, almost shocked. She looked away and sighed again. Then, she took off her mask; Fang was Ricochet. "I'm sorry," she said tears welling up in her eyes. Then, she let out a gasp feeling the ever familiar jolt rush through her body. Red caught her just as she was about to fall to her knees.

"Put your mask back on, Reine!" she shouted.

Ricochet growled and stood up, "I'm not wearing that thing ever again!" she shouted then let out a Canary Cry knocking the woman over.

Talon was shocked, but she stood up, "I told you never to use that. How dare you disobey your mother?!" everyone froze. Canary stared between Reine and Talon. If Talon was Reine's mother, then there was only one other person behind that mask.

"Alanis…" she muttered, "you took her…"

Talon glared at Canary, but took off the mask revealing her face. She was the spitting image of Canary only older looking and with brown hair. "Hello, Sissy," she spat.

"Why did you take her?"

"She's my daughter, mine! You took her from me!"

"I did what was best for her!"

"What's best for Reine is being raised by her mother!"

"You were going to turn her into a criminal!"

"Enough!" Alanis roared, "Mother always favored you more because of your Canary Cry." She then charged at Canary, but Ricochet did something unexpected. She tackled her mother to the ground, shocking everyone. Alanis then kicked Ricochet hard in the stomach sending her to the ground. That was when all hell broke loose. Batman had taken on Sportsmaster with the help of Aqualad and Robin. Kid and Zatara were handling Claw. Miss M and Artemis were dealing with Cheshire. Canary and Ricochet were once more working side by side to take down Alanis, with some assistance from Red. Alanis stood up and held up a remote. Ricochet flinched slightly at the sight of it earning a glance from Red. A smirk played on the woman's lips, "Now will you listen to your mother?" and pressed the button.

Ricochet gasped as the electricity jolted her, then it turned into a blood curdling scream as Alanis held button down. "Reine," Red said about to grab her, but got shocked by an electric current. He flinched and looked to the collar around her neck. His blue eyes narrowed behind his mask; how could a mother do this to her own daughter? Reine was bent over as the fighting ensued. Red knew what he had to do. He aimed an arrow at Alanis, whom was shouting at Ricochet and telling how she "should have" listened to her mother. The arrow flew; it exploded and separated the mad woman from the remote. Ricochet slumped into his arms with a groan and he ripped the collar off, which was loose.

"Thanks," she groaned, "I forgot that was on…"

"Of course you did."

Then, Klarion appeared and frowned. "I leave for no more than half an hour and you let the heroes in?" he whined as Teekl mewed in his arms, "Ah! And Fang's a goody-two-shoes again!" he scowled, "Looks like we're going to need to leave." With the snap of his fingers, Alanis, Sportsmaster, Cheshire, and Claw disappeared along with him.

"Damn it…" Ricochet cussed catching her breath as she struggled to stand, "I was hoping he wouldn't get back." but, that was forgotten.

Canary walked up to her and touched her shoulder, "Are you okay?" she asked. Ricochet nodded and hugged her aunt. "I'm sorry I never told you."

"I'm glad you didn't. I don't want to be a killer."

"Then, I taught you well."

The two smiled when they broke apart. Canary let the Team greet her as she went to talk with Batman. Megan threw herself onto Ricochet glad to finally have her first female human friend back. "Thank goodness you're okay!" she exclaimed.

"Was sending an email really the only thing you could think of?" Robin chuckled.

"Oh hush up," Ricochet sighed, "It was the best way to do things, plus I figured out how to upload a virus into their systems too."

"How'd you do that?"

She shrugged, "I've watched Rob do it plenty of times." The Boy Wonder smirked at her with approval. "Let's get back to the Bio-ship," Batman stated, "Ricochet needs to rest." With that, the heroes made their way home.


	8. Ch7: Wow

**I want to thank everyone that's been reading Balanced. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue because I had hit a writer's block. But, now that I see people want me to continue and so many ideas for stories and other things have come into my mind, I know I want to keep writing.**

* * *

Kurai: REINE IS BACK! YAAAY! Kay, Baby Bird, please tell the rest of the story… Kurai wants to watch "To the Beautiful You"…

Reine: And, she's off to watch her Korean dramas… dumb fangirl.

Kurai: Minho-oppa, you're such an awesome action star! OMG, Hyun Woo-oppa, you poor thing! I'll hug you!

* * *

Ch.7: Wow

Reine POV

"I am **not** going to the infirmary," I stated hotly. Dinah frowned at me as I stood my ground. We all knew I hated anything that had to do with hospitals… or sterile needles.

"We need to make sure you're okay, Reine," Dinah stated giving me a harsh look. I refused to move as the others stared at me. No one should have been surprised that I would refuse to go, but they were. Probably because of the circumstances that had just occurred.

Roy was frowning at my immaturity, and had had just about enough. He threw me over his shoulder as I let out a shriek of surprise. "Put me down!" I shouted flailing but not succeeding. No one said anything after that, and went about their things. (They are such jerks, not helping me out.)

After Roy dropped me on a bed with a slight thud, I glared at him. He took off his mask and smacked me on the head with it, "You're an idiot." I watched him as he sat beside me… his body moved slowly from fatigue. "You really had me worried," he said catching me off guard.

"Why?"

"You were kidnapped! Why wouldn't I be worried?"

I stared at him in silence. It was probably one of the first times in a long time that Roy had ever said anything like that to me. The silence filled the room with a tension that made me want to look away, but I just couldn't. Roy wouldn't even look at me, but I could see in his eyes that he seemed tired. My hand reached for his shoulder and placed my hand on it gently. His blue eyes were filled with mixed feelings.

"Roy," I questioned, "Are you okay?" he pulled me into a hug and held me there. "Roy…" I said looking up at him.

"I love you," was all he said. A tingly feeling came into my stomach. It felt nice. Slowly, a smile crept onto my face and my cheeks began to burn with embarrassment. A smirk crept onto Roy's lips, "What's up with you?"

"I… I love you too."

A thud and few choice words were heard outside. I snorted listening to Artemis yell at Wally for falling over. Roy chuckled when he heard Dinah telling them all to leave, but hushed up when she came into the room. She cocked an eyebrow when she saw us and smiled.

"I see you two have warmed up to each other again," she stated, "Roy, we need to do a check up on Reine, you can see her later." He nodded and stood up leaving me there pouting. "Reine, stop it," she sighed, "You just got back and you're already acting like a child. Why aren't you wiped out?"

"I napped on the way back," I answered making her crack a smile. Roy turned to us at the door and gave me a smirk that made me blush. This feeling I felt in the bottom of my stomach made me feel really happy. When he disappeared from the door, I could hear the guys congratulating her. I lied back on the bed as Dinah looked over me. I let out a sigh of glee and grinned. Roy had been one of my first friends. He had been the first person I got to work with when Dinah wasn't around. He had been the one to yell at me when I got into trouble. He had been my first kiss.

So this is what love feels like… wow. It's amazing.

* * *

_**I hope to keep writing to keep writing this story until I reach the ending that I have wanted. Reine is one of my most thought out characters. I wanted her to be a part of me, and the part I know the most is my witty and silly side. Please keep supporting Reine, I know she's basking in the attention! :)**_

_**-Kurai (GeishaXnoXHimitsu)**_


	9. Ch8: Christmas

**Hey, ya'll! It's Kurai (GeishaXnoXHimitsu)!**

**So, I finally updated because I'm a little annoyed at CartoonNetwork.**

**They decided to push this week's episode of "Young Justice" back because of their precious 20th Birthday.**

**I get the thrill, but seriously? It couldn't wait half an hour?**

**Anyway, Reine wants to thank you all for reading!**

**And I want to thank HeirxxOfxxMerlin, Johanna Ershova, Loveless642, Opposite personality, The Songbird Still Sings, animecrazygirl1 and kitsune-miko-witch for favoriting Balanced.**

**I also want to thank Angel of Amaranthine, Edward Cullen's Girl, LivinJgrl123, Loveless642, NekoKittyNinja, OCLover89, Opposite personality, The Songbird Still Lives, WolfTears262, klspun, knoxrox and sky-ride125 for following Balanced!**

**So enjoy Reine's... awesomeness!**

* * *

Ch.8: Christmas

December 24

I sat with Zatanna in the Cave watching re-runs of a show she liked. Everyone else was either with family or on some mission Robin had told them about. It bothered me the most was that he had to take Roy with him and leave me behind at the Cave (all because I was injured). Unconsciously I pouted. Roy and I had been together for less than a week and he'd been whisked away from me already.

"You're pouting again," Zatanna laughed. I sighed, being in love was weird.

"I can't help it…" I said hugging a pillow, "I miss Roy!" I buried my face in the pillow and groaned.

"They'll be back soon! I doubt that Robin would make a mission take so long. You know, the way you miss Roy is kind of cute." My head shot up and I gave her a confused look. "It's sweet that you miss him, since you two are official now," she explained, "I'm kind of jealous."

This felt odd to me. All my life, I hadn't really interacted with kids my age, since I was kept a secret from the world. Before I met Roy, I didn't really have a friend. Now that I was part of the Team, I made so many friends. And sitting here with Zatanna, talking about guys, it felt really good.

"Why should you be jealous?" I asked, "I bet Robin misses you."

"Why would he miss me?"

I grinned, "You don't know~!"

"Don't know what?"

"Robin **_likes_** you! And I mean **_likes_** when I say that."

She looked away in embarrassment, "I didn't know."

"It would be so adorable if you two were together! The two youngest members of the Team… well minus Conner."

"That can't work! I don't even know who Robin really is… I mean his secret identity!"

"Why does that matter? It just adds to the mystery! I'm telling you, go for it!"

"Go for what?" asked someone from behind. We both looked up to find Roy and the others back from their mission. Within a split second, I was tackling him to the floor while everyone was laughing.

"I'll take my ten, Bird Boy," Artemis smirked holding out her hand. Robin frowned and handed her the ten dollar bill. Roy glared at the two not exactly happy that they betted on my behavior.

"Let it go, Roy," I whispered in his ear, "You've got to make some time up." he smirked at me as I got up. He then took my hand and led me back to my room as the others talked. They didn't notice we were gone until Robin and Artemis had to leave, but they shrugged it off.

The couple deserved some alone time.

* * *

December 25

Roy ended up sleeping over with me at the Cave. The next day, I woke up to someone ripping the covers off me. I groaned and opened my eyes slowly to see Dinah and Ollie looking down at us.

"I should have known," Ollie laughed as Dinah shook her head. I looked at them in confusion, but felt someone's arm around my waist. My face turned a bright red remembering that Roy was holding me against his chest.

"I can explain!" I said sitting up and waking up the archer, "It's not what you think, I swear!"

"Oh, you're not going to explain by yourself," Dinah said as Roy looked up at the two sheepishly. All the while, Ollie was snickering at us.

Christmas that year was pretty interesting. Wally still teases me about it… but he usually ends up in pain about a minute later.

* * *

**So, Kurai wants to announce that Balanced may have a sequel! :)**

**If you want Reine's story to continue, then shoot me a message or post a review! But, I do warn you that Reine may not be with Roy.**

**If you've watched "Young Justice: Invasion", then you'll get what I'm saying.**


	10. Ch9: Seriously?

**Well, as I follow Season 1, I have to say that Reine's story is reaching the end.**

**This chapter took awhile to write because I didn't know how to end it.**

**I also blame power outages and loss of Internet. Damn you faulty technology and inclement weather.**

**Anyway, thanks a bunch... At 2:00 in the morning**

**With Cravings for Candy,**

**Kurai-chan**

**PS: if you didn't finish season 1... SPOILER ALERT**

* * *

Ch.9: Seriously?

December 29

"Really, Roy," I asked with excitement as he smiled, "Oh my gobstoppers!" I literally jumped into his arms. My arms wrapped around his neck. He hugged me and spun me around. It was elating to hear the news. "You're a member of the Justice League!" I whispered into his ear, "It's kind of attractive, you know."

Roy smirked and put me down, holding me close. (I think I swooned a little) "Really now…" he said leaning close to my face, "And what does that mean for me?"

I couldn't help but giggle, and pulled him by the shirt and into my lips. He smirked into the kiss and roughly bit them. I gave a small gasp, but gladly let him in. Our tongues played with each other. It wasn't long until I was up against the wall and Roy was on top of me. We stayed like that for awhile enjoying the intimacy.

"Hey, Reine- oh," Raquel (Rocket) said with Kaldur by her side, "Uh, we can leave you guys alone." The two of us broke apart, my face burning with embarrassment.

"Ah, it's fine," I laughed nervously taking a step back. Roy grabbed my hand before I could slip away. I smiled at him knowing he didn't want me to leave. "What's up?" I asked grasping Roy's hand tightly.

"Everyone's in the Rec Room if you want to join us."

"Sure," I said before Roy could protest, "Go ahead, we'll catch up." The two nodded and walked away.

Roy groaned, "I wanted you all to myself." I giggled and snuggled into his chest. We didn't really get to spend that much time together with everything that's been going on, the mole.

"Come on," I said looking up at him, "You and I both know you need to share. I bet they're throwing a party to celebrate your promotion."

* * *

As we walked into the room, everyone burst out in cheers. I laughed as they all congratulated Roy. He was never one for big occasions. Robin then turned on the music and Megan brought out the food. There were so many sugary things and everyone was having fun just hanging around.

"I can't believe Roy finally did it," Robin said leaning on the counter with me, "He's the first of us to make it up there."

"I know," I smiled looking into the plastic cup in my hand filled with soda, "He's the one that wanted it most too." I could still remember the first time I met Roy.

_"Okay, Black Canary, I'm ready to take on the bad guys!" I grinned saluting my aunt. I was only fourteen at the time and I was so excited to finally get the chance to join Dinah in crime fighting. It had been my biggest dream._

_Dinah smiled at me knowing how excited I was, "That's great Ricochet, but you have to act professional, okay? Oh, here comes Green Arrow and Speedy."_

_I felt my heart skip a beat. Speedy was my idol. Dinah told me all about him. How he searched for GA to become his protege after the loss of his parents. To me, he was the strongest person I'd ever seen and now I was working with him. It was like a fantasy. When I saw him in his unmistakeable red suit and yellow fedora made me want to squeal. It really felt like a dream._

_"Black Canary, you really brought her out?" GA asked glancing at me._

_"Of course," Dinah smiled, "Ricochet's ready to take on the dark side of Star City." I beamed with pride at the comment. Speedy, on the other hand, didn't seem to care._

_"Can we please get a move on?" he asked in a slightly rude manner. I frowned, this wasn't what I expected from Speedy._

_"Roy..." GA warned, "you need to be polite." I thought for a bit. Roy meant "king" and Reine meant "queen". My mouth hung open slightly._

_"Hey," I said walking up to him, "Our names match in a way." He looked at me strangely as I grinned. "Roy means "king" and Reine, that's my name, means "queen"! How cool is that?" I said practically bouncing on the spot_.

And to think that it took three years for Roy to fall in love with me. I smiled to myself thinking about it. To think that only a few months ago, Roy was Speedy. And now he was Red Arrow of the Justice League. "It's a great way to close out the year, don't you think?" I asked the Boy Wonder.

He laughed his signature laugh, "Definitely."

I spotted Zatana glancing over at us from the couch and smiled mischievously. "Hey, Rob, you should talk to Zatana."

"Why..."

"Oh, I don't know. You two are about the same age and all."

"Reine, why do I have the feeling that you said something you shouldn't have?"

"Robby! I'm hurt that you'd think that!" I said mocking hurt. Then, I whispered to him, "All I did was put in a good word for you! The "crazy girl" that knows your secret identity suggests you take advantage of her kindness." He looked at me incredulously, but he went over to talk to Zatana anyway. It wasn't long after that Roy took his spot and slung his arm around my waist. "Aw, young love is so precious," I mused with a giddy expression.

"It sounds like you're calling us old, Reine," he chuckled.

"Well, you act like an old man sometimes..."

He gave me a small glare that I countered with by sticking my tongue out at him. Roy then smirked that lovely smirk of his and whispered in my ear, "Keep acting cute like that in front of the guys and I'll have to lock you up."

"I might not mind that..." I smirked making him blush slightly.

"Ugh, gross!" Wally said from behind us, "I did not need to hear that." He pulled a face at us as I glared at him. Then, I kissed Roy passionately just to send Wally off, which it did.

* * *

December 30

As we watched Roy accept his membership on the large monitor inside the Hall of Justice, I couldn't help but bounce in my spot with happiness. No one blamed me. My love had finally made his dream come true.

"I still think we should be celebrating out there with them," Rocket said. She was slightly irked that she didn't get a chance to say anything to her mentor, Icon.

"You'll get used to being in the shadow," I said, "that's how it usually is."

"Reine, would you stop bouncing?" Artemis sighed, "You look like a three year old that has to pee."

i spun on my heel and smiled at her, "But Mommy, I need to go so bad!" Wally snorted as I hugged the blonde much to her disapproval.

"Get off, Reine!"

"Ilove you Mum!"

Robin burst out in laughter and fell off his chair as Rocket looked to Aqualad. Megan and Conner couldn't help but laugh lightly at my antics. Yes, this was our lovely team. Of course, I brought most of the chaos.

"Is she always like this?" Rocket asked.

"Yes, but you will find out that it makes things lively," Kaldur replied.

A small beep came from Robin's glove computer ceasing the laughter. He accessed the alarm and frowned, "We found Cheshire." I sighed, this was bad timing for a mission. The Boy Wonder had hacked the computers to send the Team the alarm first before the Justice League.

"All right," I said seriously, "The faster we get this done with the faster we can get back to celebrating." Everyone nodded and headed out.

What we didn't expect to find out when we got back was to discover Roy was the mole.

I slumped into a chair at the Cave, "Seriously?"

* * *

**To be honest... I thought up the Artemis-mom scene was hilarious. So hilarious to the point I could have woken up everyone in my house.**

**Anyway, I have to ask a serious-ish question. If you look at the picture of my lovely story you see Reine. she has her hair long. In the sequel, if I chop it off, would anyone be upset?**

**My reasons are simply: Reine was haunted by her past (parents) and chopped it off in symbolism of being cleansed of her past.**

**So you all know the drill by now. Messages and reviews, the works. XD**

**Kurai: Reine, mumzy is so proud of you! *hugs Reine and rubs cheek against hers***

**Reine: *creeped out* let go! I have a mother (not that she was any better)!**

**Kurai: But, I created you with my heart and soul! *looms over Reine with overbearing love***

**Reine: Monkey feathers - "AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER" REFERENCE**


	11. Ch10: New Year's Eve

**Hey-yo! Kurai's here to play... at 2:17AM! LOL I need to stop posting like this. But it's okay, I don't have school**  
** later.**

**Anyway, thanks (as usual) for reading Balanced. I had to find this episode before I wrote it because-**

**Actually it's important. Everyone needs to understand I HAVE to be accurate with dialogue. Plus I got to be a fangirl while I watched it. (My feels are so bad right now)**

**So enjoy Reine in ****_Young Justice_****'s Season 1 Finale!**

**And then after that, my creative freedom will break out.**

**If you see ****_Yu-Gi-Oh!_**** monsters and ****_Young Justice_**** characters running about... I apologize.**

* * *

Ch.10: New Year's Eve

December 31, 7:16 EST

Mount Justice

"Seriously?" I asked no one in particular as I sat in the chair. There was no way Roy could have been the mole. "He can't be the mole…" I muttered having the memory run through my mind was painful.

_ "We have reason to feel proud of yesterday's victories," Kaldur said as we all walked through the Cave, the entire Team. I grinned, even though we couldn't celebrate Roy's initiation after the ceremony, we still did a great job. "But one thing has not changed," he said deeply, that made my grin fade._

_ "Somehow the bad guys are still getting Intel on us," Robin stated._

_ "Yea, but at least we know none of us are the mole," KF stated with a smile at Artemis. The two had definitely gotten closer recently. As we came into the Cave, Batman and Red Tornado were waiting for us._

_ "That is correct," Batman stated, "The mole was Red Arrow." I froze as he pulled up Roy's profile. He had to be bluffing… but this was Batman. The Dark Knight would never bluff._

_ "Th-That can't be," I said walking up to him, "We've known him for years! Roy would never betray the League… let alone us!" I really meant me. I couldn't believe this and I knew that Robin, Kaldur and Kid Flash couldn't either._

_ But, Red Tornado's mechanical voice didn't make this any better, "Unfortunately, the Roy Harper we have known for the last three years is another Project Cadmus clone." My knees were growing weak. None of this could be true. My blue eyes stared at the hologram of the Project Cadmus building… was all the years I spent with him a lie?_

_ "We've the real Speedy was abducted and replaced after becoming Green Arrow's sidekick," Batman said pulling up an image of Speedy from three years ago. "The clone was programmed with a drive to join the Justice League," Batman explained, "Which is why he was so angry with any delays to his admission and why he refused to join the Team. This Roy Harper had no idea he was a clone or a traitor and that his subconscious drove him to become… League worthy. So he was struck out on his own as Red Arrow. And when he was finally admitted, his secondary programming kicked in." I swallowed hard. Sure it was great to know that Roy hadn't planned on b_etr_aying us… me. But, I was scared of what he had done against his will. "And he attempted to betray the League to Vandal Savage," he continued, "Fortunately, I had already deduced Red Arrow was a clone, we were prepared."_

_ "Savage was subdued, but Red Arrow escaped. He is now a fugitive, armed and dangerous."_

_ We were all silent. Robin looked at the ground as Zatanna put a hand on his shoulder. Wally looked angrily at the wall as Artemis watched him hesitantly._

_ "The clone Roy," Kaldur growled, "The Team will find him." I balled my fists. How could he say it like that? Roy didn't mean to betray us!_

_ "Negative," Batman ordered, "Red Arrow's a member of the Justice League now. Leave him to us." he then got a call from the Watchtower, "I'm needed at the Watchtower. Red Tornado, stay with the kids."_

_ By the time he left, Megan had linked us telepathically. "Clone or no clone," Kaldur said, "Roy was one of us. we will go after him."_

That memory stung. I sat in the chair for a bit still trying to absorb everything. Suddenly Red Tornado tried to make a grab for me, but then shut down.

"Red Tornado…" I said through the link,

"He's totally powered down," Kid said staring at him,

"All functions off line," Robin said looking at his glove computer.

Zatanna then said, "Guys I'm sensing a low level mystic force at play. I don't know if it caused his shut down, but now that I think about it…I was getting the same buzz off Batman."

"Batman… he called us kids," Robin stated looking at all of us; "He never calls us that!"

I glanced at Red Tornado's hands and gasped, "That bio-chip!" and took a strange looking chip out of the robot's hands. I looked it over intensely, "So this is why Klarion and Ivo were brought in! They've done something to the League."

"Robin, Kid, Rocket, Zatanna, Reine," Kaldur ordered, "See if you can get Red Tornado back online. The rest with me to find Ro- Red Arrow." We didn't even need another word and went off. Something big was going to happen.

* * *

"Well," I said looking over the body as Red Tornado's new body downloaded his conscious, "It could pass for a guy."

"So Tornado built this android… to party?" Rocket asked.

"Not how he put it… but yea, more or less," Zatanna said as the computer announced Black Canary's arrival.

"Hey, guys," she greeted with a concerned look, "Wanted to see how you're handling the- **what are you doing to Red?**"

"It's not how it looks!' Kid shouted.

"Yea, Wally-boy, she's going to believe that one," I said rolling my eyes but staring straight at my aunt, "She raised me, remember?"

"It looks like you're downloading his consciousness into a new body," she stated crossly.

"Okay," Kid said glancing at the monitor, "It's pretty much exactly how it looks." And that was when the download was complete, "But-"

"Team," Tornado shouted, "Get out of the Cave now!" and that set Dinah off.

She let out a Canary Cry that I quickly countered. But, I was pushed back and into Tornado with such force that his body began to tear apart. Hers was still stronger than mine. Robin then quickly went in for a charge and faked being thrown onto his back to place a smoke bomb on her shoulder. As the knock out gas came out of it, Rocket created a sphere around her that eventually made her pass out.

I sat up and rubbed my head, "My aunt did not just attack us."

"Black Canary is the least of our problems," Tornado's upper body said, "We must abandon the Cave."

We quickly loaded everyone up onto Sphere just as Dr. Fate, Icon and Captain Marvel came through the Zeta Tubes. Black Canary was tied and gagged (Okay, I was not willing to risk anything that day) in the back with Tornado's body and Zatanna. I sat with Kid, Rocket and Tornado in front while Robin drove.

"Stay off your radios, let the Super Cycle track Superboy," Tornado stated, "Instruct her to strike out all signals. We cannot allow the League to track us."

"Right of course," Kid said, "Just one question, why is the Justice League after us?"

"The entire League is under the complete, mental domination of Vandal Savage. Red Arrow seems to have been his means. His method, as Savage referred to as Star-o-tech. An alien bio-organism infused with nanotechnology, and magic. It shuts down the body's antinomy allowing him to program them to suit his needs. Even my in-organic brain was not immune, but the process requires 0.16 nanoseconds to fully integrate with the host's nervous system. That delay allowed me to create and internal sub-program, which would disconnect my power cells if I attempted to affect another person. Fortunately, the Star-o-tech is body specific. As John Smith, I am now free of outside control."

"This Star-o-tech," Robin said glancing back at us, "It worked on super powered humans, four flavors of humans, an android, even Dr. Fate, using all of you without a fight?"

"Indeed, a remarkable achievement, one not easily countered."

Then, we picked up Megan's telepathy. "Miss M," I said through the link, "You're all in range?"

"Right here, Ricochet," she replied opening up the hatch of the Bio-ship and de-camouflaging, "De-camouflaging so both squads can attach."

"Awesome," I stated as we pulled up into the Bio-ship, "We need to have a serious talk." That was when Dinah came back to her senses… and I saw Roy. I hopped off of Sphere and ran into his arms hugging him tightly. He hugged me back, but didn't say anything at first. "I was scared that I wouldn't see you again," I whispered, "That… That they…"

"I'm fine," he said, "But we need to stay focused."

"Right," I nodded.

* * *

December 31, 23:16 EST

Watchtower

Our team moved out quickly throughout the Watchtower, disinfecting each Leaguer. We couldn't risk them all ganging up on us could we? My mind wandered every so often to Roy as he distracted Vandal with Black Canary and Tornado. I just hoped Vandal didn't act too quickly.

I ran around helping out wherever I could… and taking a beating or two, but eventually we succeeded. Just as we were headed towards the main atrium, Vandal and Klarion disappeared. Out team glanced at each other, but I rushed over to Roy.

"Happy New Year, Justice League," the computer said as the hologram of January first appeared. It was over.

Wally picked Artemis up bridal style, "I should have done this a long time ago."

"No kidding," she said kissing the boy. I knew they would end up together.

Superboy and Megan were already making out and Zatanna pulled Robin in for a kiss. Rocket then walked up to Kaldur, "Liking this team more every day." She said kissing his cheek.

I smiled as Roy sat up, "Happy New Year." He then pulled me in for a kiss. It wasn't like the usual one where it was rough, and it wasn't a sweet one either. It was filled with… emotions. He never acted like this… unless something was on his mind, and I knew what it was.

"Human traditions still elude me," Tornado said as he lay there on the floor.

* * *

**So... leave your comments... message me. The whole nine yards or whatever. Oh... now I let out my girl that teleports and runs through walls... oops. Okay, next chapter will be short... because there is an important Roy part (We all know it). So... Kurai's going to finish that now.**

**With the Urge to Text to Random Friends "You Complete Me 3 ;)"**

**Kurai-chan**


	12. Ch11: New Resolution

**It is now... 2:54AM. Second chapter in an hour. So, how'd you like that Flashy update? (LOL okay, bad pun)**

**Anyway, thanks to y'all again!**

* * *

Ch.11: New Resolution

I sat next to Roy surrounded by other League members. He was pouring out all his regrets as I held his hand tightly. This just wasn't fair.

"Everything I thought was a lie," he said staring at the table, "I'm not a hero or a sidekick. I'm a traitor, a pawn."

"Roy…" I began softly, but he cut me off.

"I'm not Roy, I don't know what I am. All I know is that I need to find the real Roy. I need to rescue Speedy." I gave him a shocked look. He wasn't going to do this was he? Deny his self everything in the guilt that he "stole" the real Roy Harper's life? I knew he probably would…

GA stood up, but we could all see that he was blaming himself for what happened to Speedy. "Let's get you home at least," he said looking at Roy, "You deserve some rest, you too, Reine." I nodded and followed him and Black Canary, but never letting go of Roy's hand.

No one protested. They didn't want to step over any lines.

Star City

January 1, 3:25 EST

I sat with Roy in his apartment. He refused to let anyone else watch over him. "Roy," I sighed as he paced around, "You need to rest."

He looked over to me with a tired expression knowing I was right. "I stole his life," he said. I walked over to him and hugged him. Roy was already letting the guilt take over.

"You can make it up by saving him, and you won't be alone. The Justice League will help, Dinah and Ollie already said they would… and you have me."

Our eyes met, filled with emotion. We were silent and stayed like that for a bit. It was a new year, and it was time to make a new resolution: Save Speedy, the Original Roy Harper.

* * *

Mount Justice

July 4, 19:00 EST

"Roy," I called out finding him, as usual on the computer. He refused to rest until he found Speedy. It was getting to the point that it was obsession. And, somehow, I knew it would happen. "Roy, everyone's looking for you."

"I'm not wasting my time partying," he stated gruffly, "There's work to do." There he went again. Always, it was always "We need to find Speedy" or "I stole his life". Why couldn't Roy understand that he needed to take a step back to regroup every once in awhile?

I approached him and wrapped my arms around his torso. This search was starting to make a rift between us. "Roy, please take a break," I said.

"I can't, Reine, you know I can't."

"That's not true, Roy," I frowned as he turned catching the angered tone in my voice, "You're just becoming obsessed! I've stuck with you thick and thin since we started this. I left the Team to help you! Give me just this one evening with you. This is getting to the point that it's unhealthy, Roy. What use will you be to Speedy, to the real Roy Harper, if you hurt yourself because you couldn't take care of yourself?"

My face was flushed with anger, but it actually got through to him. Roy pulled me into a hug, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I lied. There was a gut feeling that this was going to tear us apart.

Roy and I balanced each other out, like a king and queen. His hardheaded personality and stubbornness countered my wild one. We supported each other for years and cared deeply for each other and everyone we loved. In a way, our relationship was the perfect balance.

And, I'm glad it was balanced.

* * *

**It's short, yes, but because this is my impact one... and because the last 3 minutes of "Auld Acquaintance" were beyond important. Anyway, I'm going to start the sequel soon. The first chapter will probably be a series of drabbles of what happened with Reine in the five year gap between the seasons.**

**And if you're all lucky, you'll get a preview of the sequel soon ;)**

**"You Complete Me 3 ;)"**

**Kurai-chan**

**PS: You should try texting this to random friends. I scared like three of mine XD**


	13. Preview to Scales

**Hey! Okay, I finally got to this and finished it! :)**

**Thank you to ****_everyone_**** that read Balanced! Reine says thanks too!**

**So this is just a preview of the sequel... Scales**

**I'll get on the first couple of chapters soon, but be patient! I have a lot of things going on right now... XD**

* * *

Preview to Sequel:

A slender figure looked over Star City. Her short black hair with side strips slightly longer blew with the city wind. The night life was just dying down at three in the morning. She wore a black jumpsuit with stealth boots, a worn utility belt with all kinds of goodies, and a short leather jacket.

"Target moving," said a young female voice in her earpiece, "Permission to move, Ricochet?"

Ricochet looked down below her into the alleyway, "Permission granted, Nightingale. Phanny, are you in position?"

"Waiting for the scumbag, Queenie," said another female voice. Ricochet smirked; her name (Reine) did mean queen.

"Great job, girls."

Just then, a man ran down the alleyway running from Nightingale. Just as he ran beneath her, Phanny (also known as Phantasm) teleported above him and kicked him down to the ground.

She straddled the man and smiled at him. "You should have just listened to Gale," she cooed as Ricochet jumped down effortlessly.

"Phanny, back off a bit," Ricochet stated as Nightingale stood blocking the street off for the perpetrator's escape. She smirked seeing that the man had no idea what to do, "You're going to tell me where Vandal Savage is, you get me?"

Suddenly, a beeper went off on Ricochet's glove. She had gotten the same glove as certain Boy Wonder about a year or two ago. He said that since she was planning on making her own subdivision of the Team, it would be easier to keep up on Intel.

Stepping away from the man, Ricochet answered to see the face of Nightwing and a certain "retired" speedster. "Well, I'll be a cat's sister!" she mocked, "It's Nightwing… and the Bottomless Pit!" Wally frowned at that, but he knew Phanny was only teasing.

"We didn't interrupt did we?" Nightwing asked as Phanny and Gale tormented the man trying to get any information in the background.

"Of course not! What do you need?"

"We found him," Wally said, "He's in Star City. We're heading over now, meet you at these coordinates." She didn't need anything else but glanced to her two teammates.

"Go ahead, Queenie," Phanny said, "We got this."

"Yea, we can handle this," Gale stated.

Ricochet thanked them and ran off. This time, she would make Roy stay.

* * *

**Phanny and Nightingale are two OCs that I created after Reine. You'll see them throughout the story.**

**And I will be writing their stories soon too... after I keep my promise for another writer here.**

**So keep in touch!**

**"A miracle is another name for hard work."**

**-Choi Minho as Kang Tae Joon in ****_To the Beautiful You_**


	14. The Scales Are About to Tip

**Hey guys! It's Kurai (GeishaXnoXhimitsu) with a huge announcement!**

**Scales is up and ready to read! The Prologue and 1st chapter are up!**

**Thanks so much to my readers that have stuck with me through Balanced.**

**Reine thanks ya too... while she plays with Roy. Ahem, anyway, please continue to read and review!**

**I'll continue my hard work, and hopefully a miracle will come out of it.**

**-GeishaXnoXHimitsu**

**"A miracle is another name for hard work."**


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